How mentoring benefits professionals (and boosts business)

What makes a good mentor?

A mentor is not a sponsor or a coach. For mentors, the role is about more than passing on technical skills.

“You’ve got to be diplomatic and develop a relationship of trust,” McLeod says. “I’ve worked with people where I’ve seen potential in them and I’ve decided to be quite hard on them, knowing they’ll take it in the right spirit.” This is different to sponsorship, he explains, which is typically about supporting someone who is more junior to build their confidence.

Consistency of behaviour and messaging in the role of mentor is crucial.

“My greatest fear as a mentor is about steering off the path of consistency because of my mood, something else going on in my day or in my life,” he says. “You’ve just got to be brutally consistent.”

Cogin agrees, stressing the importance of clarity in the framework of the relationship.

“You can have mentor–mentee relationships that are not a good use of time for either party,” Cogin says. “To avoid this, you have to be clear about what you want to achieve during a 50-minute meeting. The mentee needs to take responsibility for this.”

Pasas says the mentee effectively has to be encouraged out of their comfort zone to receive the greatest benefit.

“The goals and desired outcomes need to be driven largely by the mentee,” he says. “If it becomes a situation where the mentee feels they’re being managed, it is not really going to achieve what is needed.”

The structure of the relationship should be clearly defined, just like any other project within a business. This includes agreements on expectations, and how long the mentoring arrangement will last. As long as the relationship is properly structured, it is likely to be mutually beneficial, Pasas explains.

“You need the time to make it a success for the mentee,” he says. “If it is set up for six to 12 months, maybe with a meeting once a month for an hour, that should work. It should have a bit of a cadence to ensure everyone involved remains disciplined and accountable.”

People can also grow out of mentoring relationships, Cogin acknowledges. “Sometimes the mentee will want to go off and do something else,” she says. “One year is a good length of time. A number of universities have alumni–student mentoring programs that are typically structured over nine months.”

However long the official mentoring relationship, they often result in lifelong friendships. McLeod is still in touch with the two mentors that had such an effect on his career decades ago, and Cogin remains friends with several mentors she has had along the way.

“I like to think of it as your mentor becoming your cheer squad,” Cogin says. “They’re watching your career and cheering you on from the sidelines, long after that career guidance and help has ended.”